The Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association was founded in 1975 when Tom O'Neill borrowed Ron Colby's rolodex and started a newsletter! 50 years later, the organization is one of the country's largest statewide Bluegrass groups, and has an amazing history.

Let's celebrate that history together with a very special concert celebration!

Brian Wicklund has put together an all-star group to serve as the House Band for the evening. They will be joined onstage by guests from throughout MBOTMA's history for music, stories and reminiscences, and stories of friends and times past. It will be just like John Hartford's "Back in the Goodle Days".

There is an extra charge for this special event, as we're raising money to support the ongoing programs of MBOTMA, and to secure the organization for the next 50 years!

Tickets for the Celebration are:

Adults: $35
Seniors & Young Adults (18-24): $25
Under 18: Free

Weekend or Single Day Tickets to Fall Jam do not include this special event. You may purchase tickets to the Celebration Concert without purchasing tickets to Fall Jam.

Martha Spencer & Lucas Pasley

Martha Spencer is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She grew up in a musical family, attending community square dances and jams and learning to play several instruments and flatfoot dance. In addition to numerous other recordings, she has just released her third solo album Out in La La Land which placed on the Americana charts.  A dazzling entertainer, she has performed across the US, AU, UK, CA, and EU and been featured in articles in Rolling Stone Country, Americana Highways, NY Times and Billboard.

Lucas Pasley is a songwriter and award-winning fiddler and banjoist from the mountains of North Carolina.  He performs solo, with several regional bands, and with Martha Spencer & The Wonderland Country Band.  Along with releasing several songwriter albums, he has devoted himself to preserving and spotlighting the traditional music of his region.   

As a duo, Martha and Lucas deliver a powerful performance ranging from traditional Appalachian fiddle-banjo tunes from their families to heartfelt original songs. 

Tim Stafford

From Kingsport, Tennessee, Grammy winner Tim Stafford co-founded the group Blue Highway, which is celebrating its 31st year in 2025. Tim is a prolific songwriter with over 300 cuts and several #1 Bluegrass songs. He has been named the IBMA Songwriter of the Year three times (2014, 2017, 2023) and the SPBGMA Guitar Player of the Year twice (2001, 2015). With Steve Gulley, he co-wrote the 2008 IBMA Song of the Year, "Through the Window of a Train" as well as the most-played song of 2023 in Bluegrass, “Lonesome State of Mind.” (with Bobby Starnes) In 2010, he co-wrote (with Caroline Wright) the highly-acclaimed authorized biography Still Inside: The Tony Rice Story. Tim has released five solo records and five duet records along with his recordings with Blue Highway and Alison Krauss. He was most recently the Artist in Residence at ETSU’s famed Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music program.

THUG Ensemble

The Two Harbors Ukulele Group, affectionately known as T.H.U.G., was formed by Al Anderson in 2010. It has grown from five members to a performance group of sixteen and features soprano, concert, tenor, baritone and bass ukuleles, backed up by harmonica, melodica, drums and horns. The group plays a wide variety of music from 1920's classics to '60's rock and roll to country music...yes, even some Frank Zappa music. Our group has played throughout Minnesota from Lanesboro to Grand Portage and will play almost 50 performances in 2023. We also host the Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival in Two Harbors which is attended by over 300 ukulele players from over fifteen states and three provinces.